Your memorial stones…

But Devon’s engaged. And Lauren is having a baby. And Lindsay is getting this awesome job/ministry opportunity. And Becca’s pregnant too. This seemed to be my complaint to the Lord one evening recently. It was a continual listing of how it seemed that God was blessing everyone else except for me. As silly as it sounds, I thought for a moment that maybe God had forgotten me. Surely He had. Why would these wonderful things happening for my friends and not me? God was doing great things in their lives that seemed to be moving them forward; yet, here I was just feeling like I was stuck. Not moving. Remaining the same.

The Israelites were continuously in a complaining mode. They were fearful of the new land. They wanted water. They wanted bread, and they wanted meat. They were never satisfied and failed to trust in God. However God kept moving them forward. His leading them to the promised land of Canaan was not because of anything they had done. They didn’t deserve anything, but it was solely because of who He is. He is faithful, and His promises never fail.

Fast forward because this is where that intro a paragraph back comes in handy. As the Israelites are entering Canaan, God stops the waters of the Jordan River and allows His people to cross on dry ground. He then commands Joshua to pick a man from each tribe to gather a stone from the river. In Joshua 4, we find that the twelve stones will be a memorial for the people of Israel. They will see the stones and be reminded of God’s faithfulness in bringing them to the land he had promised from the beginning – before a complaint even left their mouth.

We have memorial stones in our lives. We just fail to recognize what those stones are. In the midst of my complaining to God that evening, I had to step back and recognize exactly how God had been working in my own life. I had clouded out some of the things He was doing within me and focused more on what I was lacking. The Israelites continuously focused on what they didn’t have rather than everything God had done. Just like the Israelites set up their memorial stones to remember how God had led them to the place of Canaan, we also have to set up those memorial stones. We have to know how God has worked and is working in our lives so that we can combat the doubt and anger when the enemy tries to deceive us.

Think of your own memorial stones… they can be BIG or even the tiniest. But He is faithful and He has not forgotten you.

“He did this so that all the people of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.” Joshua 4:24

PS- I love my friends and am so excited for how God IS working in their lives.

Erin Gandy

Erin lives in Raleigh, NC and is originally from Darlington, SC. She graduated from Southeastern with an MA in Women’s Studies and is currently working as a teller at State Employees Credit Union and writing curriculum for Treasuring Christ in Raleigh. Erin gets excited about Chick-fil-a, Target, God’s Word and teachable moments, running, a beautiful dress, and Duke basketball.

3 responses to “Your memorial stones…”

Love it, Erin! Memorial Stones are why my favorite verse of just about any song is, “Here I raise mine Ebeneezer; hither by thine help I’m come. And I hope, by thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.” Thank you for sharing